Chocolate Could Soothe Your Pesky Cough, Study Finds

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Is there anything chocolate can’t do? With an ever-growing list of ancient superfoods dominating health trends, it’s a familiar favorite that keeps outshining them all — chocolate.

Far from the devil in sugar it was once thought to be, chocolate, in moderation, has been found to improve heart health, single-child pregnancies, and now, even the common cough.

A recent English study called ROCOCO compared a new cocoa-infused medicine with your regular over-the-counter syrups. The researchers saw a significant improvement in those who took the chocolate-based treatment in just two days. Twice as many patients also stopped the treatment early, compared with the over-the-counter stuff.

The science behind it sounds sweet, too.

Researchers believe chocolate is so effective due to its demulcent properties. This essentially means the rich, almost sticky decadence we just can’t get enough of, is better at coating the throat than syrups and can protect the nerve endings that trigger your cough.

But Professor Alyn Morice, head of cardiovascular and respiratory studies at the University of Hull, says the healing properties of chocolate could extend even further.

Writing in the Daily Mail, he says cocoa might even temporarily dull the nerves themselves.

“I think there is something more going on with chocolate,” he begins. "I’m sure it has a pharmacological activity, some sort of inhibitory effect on the nerve endings themselves.”

Although there is still no definitive research on that particular theory, we’re more than happy to test it out!

This post was written by Food to Love editors. For more, check out our sister siteFood to Love.